The second chapter in Eric Rohmer’s famed “Comedies et Proverbes” series, A Good Marriage is a charming and finely constructed film. Its beauty lies in the fact that, though Rohmer made some subtle observations on a sub-section of the French society and also raised an irreverent philosophical question, the film managed to retain a certain simplicity and light-heartedness throughout its crisp length. A young lady (played with spunk by Beatrice Romand) suddenly has a realization, while in the middle of a relationship with a married man, that she must get married. She immediately breaks off her relationship with the guy and starts searching for a prospective bachelor to act upon her whim. Her friend, who is a painter, attempts to set her up with her cousin who is a successful lawyer – however, despite her initial convictions as regards to her ability to seduce any guy to love her, she experiences major heartbreak in her journey as she starts falling for the man. Beautifully sketched by Rohmer, our protagonist is a naïve, impulsive, irrational and fickle-natured person and a child at heart, but she’s also a lively, endearing and an inherently “real” person. This breezy comedy of manners raised an interesting question – are the so-called ‘perfect marriages’ borne out of chance (or made in heaven, as some say, for their unpredictability), or can they be made to happen through willful acts and careful planning.
Director: Eric Rohmer
Genre: Drama/Comedy/Romance
Language: French
Country: France
2 comments:
Yes there is indeed a simplicity and "light-heartedness" that shines through the deeper philosophical context in this always engaging comedy of manners. Rohmer's mark is all over this one, but it's one as always that's hard to shake.
Again, you have illuminated your subject here.
Thanks Sam. I haven't seen much of Rohmer's films to be honest, but the more I watch his works the more I'm getting addicted to his style of filmmaking as well as his preferred choice of subject matters. And, also, its a difficult task to appraise his films given their apparent simplicity.
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